Controlling registration floods in VoIP networks via DNS

• US 9,602,595 B2
• Filed: 05/17/2016
• Issued: 03/21/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/20/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Jackson, James E., Qiu, Chaoxin, Yasrebi, Mehrad
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, MINH TRANG T
• Application Number:
  US15/156,605
• Publication Number:
  US 20160261689A1
• Time in Patent Office: 308 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/66 Arrangements for connecting between networks having differing types of switching systems, e.g. gateways
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/50 Network service management, e.g. ensuring proper service fulfilment according to agreements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/286 Time to live
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/765 triggered by the end-points
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4511 using domain name system [DNS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5007 Internet protocol [IP] addresses
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1016 IP multimedia subsystem [IMS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1073 Registration or de-registration
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1104 Session initiation protocol [SIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1036 Load balancing of requests to servers for services different from user content provisioning, e.g. load balancing across domain name servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/006 Networks other than PSTN/ISDN providing telephone service, e.g. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) , including next generation networks with a packet-switched transport layer H04L65/00 takes precedence; aspects not specific to the type of network H04M3/00; special services in those networks H04M3/42

Abstract

A mechanism controls global synchronization, or registration floods, that may result when a large number of endpoints in a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) network such as an Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) come online simultaneously after a catastrophic failure. The mechanism allows the Domain Name System (DNS) infrastructure to efficiently control the overload condition by registering user end points with backup border elements, and by staggering and by randomizing the time-to-live (TTL) parameter in registrations with backup border elements.

Claims

1. A multimedia network, comprising:

a first border element including;

a first interface with a multimedia network registrar for forwarding session initiation protocol registration requests for registering multimedia endpoints in the multimedia network; and

a first interface for receiving session initiation protocol registration requests for registering multimedia endpoints in the multimedia network, the first border element being associated with a first multimedia endpoint as a primary border element having a primary threshold number of session initiation protocol registration requests permissible during a first running time window;

a second border element including;

a second interface with the multimedia network registrar for forwarding session initiation protocol registration requests for registering multimedia endpoints in the multimedia network; and

a second interface for receiving session initiation protocol registration requests for registering multimedia endpoints in the multimedia network, the second border element being associated with the first multimedia endpoint as a secondary border element having a secondary threshold number of session initiation protocol registration requests permissible during a second running time window;

wherein session initiation protocol registration requests are received by the second border element for registering the first multimedia end point only after a number of session initiation protocol registration requests received by the first border element during the first running time window exceeds the primary threshold number; and

wherein a number of session initiation protocol registration requests received by the second border element during the second running time window for registering the first multimedia end point is limited to the secondary threshold number.

2. The multimedia network of claim 1, wherein the session initiation protocol registration requests are generated by the first multimedia endpoint based on an IP address received from a domain name system server.

3. The multimedia network of claim 1, wherein the first and second border elements are session border controllers.

4. The multimedia network of claim 1, wherein the multimedia network provides a voice-over-Internet-protocol service.

5. The multimedia network of claim 1, wherein the second border element is a primary border element associated with a second multimedia endpoint.

6. The multimedia network of claim 1, wherein the first and second border elements are associated with the first multimedia endpoint in a database accessible to a domain name system server.

7. The multimedia network of claim 1, wherein exceeding the secondary threshold number forces the first multimedia endpoint to postpone registration until a later time.

8. The multimedia network of claim 1, wherein each session initiation protocol registration requests includes an IP address of a fully qualified domain name.

9. The multimedia network of claim 1, further comprising:

a local registration cache populated with session initiation protocol registrations received from the multimedia network registrar.

10. The multimedia network of claim 1, wherein the first and second interfaces for receiving session initiation protocol registration requests for registering multimedia endpoints in the multimedia network further comprise connections with the first multimedia end point through a public internet.

11. A multimedia network, comprising:

a first border element including;

a first interface with a multimedia network registrar for forwarding session initiation protocol registration requests for registering multimedia endpoints in the multimedia network; and

a first interface for receiving session initiation protocol registration requests for registering multimedia endpoints in the multimedia network, the first border element being associated with a first multimedia endpoint as a primary border element having a primary threshold number of session initiation protocol registration requests permissible during a first running time window;

a second border element including;

a second interface with the multimedia network registrar for forwarding session initiation protocol registration requests for registering multimedia endpoints in the multimedia network; and

a second interface for receiving session initiation protocol registration requests for registering multimedia endpoints in the multimedia network, the second border element being associated with the first multimedia endpoint as a secondary border element having a secondary threshold number of session initiation protocol registration requests permissible during a second running time window;

wherein session initiation protocol registration requests are received by second border element for registering the first multimedia end point only after a number of session initiation protocol registration requests received by the first border element during the first running time window exceeds the primary threshold number; and

wherein exceeding the secondary threshold number forces the first multimedia endpoint to postpone registration until a later time based on a randomized time-to-live parameter.

12. The multimedia network of claim 11, wherein the session initiation protocol registration requests are generated by the first multimedia endpoint based on an IP address received from a domain name system server.

13. The multimedia network of claim 11, wherein the first and second border elements are session border controllers.

14. The multimedia network of claim 11, wherein the multimedia network provides a voice-over-Internet-protocol service.

15. The multimedia network of claim 11, wherein the second border element is a primary border element associated with a second multimedia endpoint.

16. The multimedia network of claim 15, wherein the second multimedia endpoint is located in a geographic area different from a geographic area of the first multimedia endpoint.

17. The multimedia network of claim 11, wherein the first and second border elements are associated with the first multimedia endpoint in a database accessible to a domain name system server.

18. The multimedia network of claim 11, wherein each session initiation protocol registration requests includes an IP address of a fully qualified domain name.

19. The multimedia network of claim 11, further comprising:

a local registration cache populated with session initiation protocol registrations received from the multimedia network registrar.

20. The multimedia network of claim 11, wherein the first and second interfaces for receiving session initiation protocol registration requests for registering multimedia endpoints in the multimedia network further comprise connections with the first multimedia end point through a public internet.